David Davies, who claimed two Olympic medals during a decade of representing Great Britain, has called time on his swimming career.

David Davies, who claimed two Olympic medals during a decade of representing Great Britain, has called time on his swimming career.

Davies won a 1500m freestyle bronze medal in Athens in 2004 and followed up with an open water silver in Beijing four years later.

Davies, 27, made his international debut swimming for Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002 and followed it up a year later with a fourth place in his first World Championships.

He was only 19 in Athens when he claimed his first Olympic medal, bronze in the 1500m freestyle.

In his 10-year spell on the international scene, the three-time Olympian has won medals in the 1500m freestyle at every level of international competition.

In 2008, Davies broke into open water swimming and in his first World Championships won silver and qualified for the inaugural marathon swimming event at the Beijing Olympics.

The British record holder won his second Olympic medal in Beijing, silver in the 10km race, and earned his place in the Swim Wales Hall of Fame.

Davies is excited to be taking up a position with Sport Wales to help inspire the next generation of Olympians.

“I have had an amazing career,” he said.“I have achieved so much more than I ever thought possible when I was a youngster.

“I have had terrific support from my family and my coach of many years, Dave Haller in Cardiff, who coached me to my first Olympic medal in Athens.

“I would also like to thank everyone at British Swimming who has helped me along the way.

“I had three great years at Loughborough under the guidance of Kevin Renshaw, who coached me to a silver medal in Beijing. I have made some fantastic friends along the way.

“I am going on to work as a Performance Lifestyle Advisor/Athlete Mentor for Sport Wales so I hope to stay involved with young swimmers and hopefully help them to achieve their sporting ambitions as I have.”

National Performance Director Michael Scott said: “David has had a outstanding swimming career with two Olympic medals and a host of other international distance freestyle medals from World, Commonwealth and European championships.

“He has had made a significant contribution to swimming in Britain in his 10-year career and is a fantastic ambassador for the sport.”

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